


In Your Presence

by Vashti (tvashti)



Series: Pack a Smile [3]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mercy Thompson Series - Patricia Briggs
Genre: 2016 TwistedShorts Ficathon, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Canon Character of Color, Character Study, Community: twistedshorts, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen, Indirect Character Study, Native American Character(s), Road Trips, Twisting The Hellmouth Fic-a-Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-10 21:59:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11700705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tvashti/pseuds/Vashti
Summary: Oz and Charles, on the road to meet the Marrok.





	In Your Presence

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the August 2016 TwistedShorts ficathon on LJ.

“Have you ever met the Vampire Slayer?” the boy asked him about ten hours into their trip.

He’d been quiet for most of that time, which Charles found surprising. Not one for unnecessary words, Charles found that most people became broken chatterboxes when forced into his company for more than a moment or two, as if needing to speak for both of them. But the boy, Oz, said only what was absolutely necessary. In that regard, he was a worthwhile traveling companion. It could have only been better if the boy’s silence wasn’t largely prompted by his fear.

When Charles had told the boy his name and that he was being taken to see the Marrok, Oz had understood everything said and unsaid without explanation. He’d had more questions – all unasked – about Charles being fully clothed after shifting than why he was being herded into a comfortable rental car not twenty minutes after they’d viciously ripped apart the demon that had been terrorizing a woman and her teenaged son. It had almost made Charles smile, this infant werewolf who was unfazed by demons but baffled by clothing that magically appeared on their own. There was little point in making friends with a wolf he might have to execute tomorrow, however.

Charles had hoped that Oz would share some, if not all, of his story once they were on the road. Other than pointing out signs and the occasional roadkill, Oz didn’t speak except for one soft “Huh” early on in their trip. It was Charles’ own protective nature that prompted them to stop as much as they did. He suspected that if he waited for Oz to indicate he needed a bathroom break, the kid would have long since died of a UTI.

After the second stop, the boy seemed to relax. He even asked if they could listen to the radio. “Just want to know what’s going on in the world.”

There seemed to be more to the request than that, more than wanting to break the silence, but Charles had nodded. The sun had long since risen by then. The extra sound wouldn’t disturb his senses any more than the other motorists around them.

He’d given himself an hour, long enough to listen to two full cycles of a local non-stop news station, before switching it off. “Thank you.”

Charles had nodded. There hadn’t been another word between them until this very moment, when Oz asked about Charles’ past with the Slayers.

“I’ve met several. This one only once.”

“When you were looking for me.” He said it as a statement, not a question. Charles had been right in guessing that the boy understood why Charles had been searching for him.

“You remind me of her,” Oz said.

Charles’ head turned. The boy was studiously looking out the windshield, muting the effect of Charles’ flat unamusement. “How so?” he said as he, too, turned to the road.

“Not gender-wise, obviously. Or height or bulk or anything.”

Charles pictured this most recent Slayer in his mind: petite, blond, very feminine. Charles’ hair was longer. He very deliberately did not chuckle.

When it became obvious there wasn’t going to be a response, Oz said, “It’s a vibe you give off. I didn’t really get it until I became a wolf. Some of it, but not all of it. Regular people don’t get it,” he finished softly, trailing off. Charles would have thought that the boy had fallen asleep mid-speech but his heart rate and breathing remained steady and alert-quick.

“And she plays it off. Under all that blond cheerleaderness. But she’s really protective when she’s not being scary.” Oz nodded to himself. “Yeah. Like that.”

Charles fought not to wrinkle his brow and study the boy beside him.

Who, for the first time in over ten hours, had decided to go to sleep.

Fin[ite]


End file.
